A Saudi-led coalition, which includes the UAE, intervened in the Yemen war in March 2015 to fight the Iran-backed Houthi rebels at the request of the internationally-recognised government of President Abdrabu Mansur Hadi.

The Arab coalition has said that Tehran sends weapons to the Yemeni rebels from Lebanon’s southern suburb of Beirut — a stronghold of the Iranian-backed Hezbollah group. Iran continues to deny involvement despite evidence presented by the US and UN.

Dr Gargash responded to statements made by Yemen’s Interior Minister Ahmed Mysari, who reportedly criticised the UAE’s role and tried to cast doubt on its ambitions in the country.

“Should I remind Minister Ahmed Al Mysari of the sacrifice of the martyr, Saeed Al Hajeri, and his colleagues on the field? Aim your bullets towards the Houthis, your excellency, the minister,” Dr Gargash tweeted on Sunday.

Al Hajeri, a member of the UAE Armed Forces, was killed last week in battle in Yemen.

"The UAE’s role in Socotra is not strategic," he told state news agency WAM on the sidelines of the annual Globesec forum in Bratislava, Slovakia. "The UAE does not have any ambitions on the archipelago. It is a Yemeni territory.”

"I assure you in a month’s time another development will arise to criticise the UAE. Why is this happening ... because the UAE has been active and effective."